


Countdown

by LPCollins



Category: Jericho (US 2006), The Agency (TV 2001)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Bombs, Dom/sub, M/M, RSJ Fandom, Smut, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:00:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25013566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LPCollins/pseuds/LPCollins
Summary: Not willing to take any chances of being hit by a nuclear bomb, Lex decides to leave for the rally point well in advance. Jericho is exactly what he had expected it to be (in other words, not much), except for one thing: Bill Koehler, with his charming smile and a deputy badge in an awfully familiar shape.
Relationships: Bill Koehler/Lex (The Agency TV 2001)
Comments: 39
Kudos: 8
Collections: Dickmas in July 2020





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [datajana](https://archiveofourown.org/users/datajana/gifts).



> Merry Dickmas in July!! <3
> 
> Thanks, [ miranda99956](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miranda99956) for being an awesome beta reader!

Lex clenched his hands around the armrests as his plane landed in Denver. This had to be the worst flight ever. He was all alone, there had been turbulence, and to top it all off, a group of terrorists was about to nuke the entire country.

In all of his years with the CIA, Lex had faced many scenarios with a potential for disaster, and even he never could have imagined what was about to happen. Back at the office they might be convinced that they had everything under control, but Lex wasn't so sure. This was huge, even for them. So, when the opportunity presented itself, he had decided to not take the risk and relocate instead. He already did everything he could to help with the plan anyway. That didn't mean he hadn't brought all of the equipment he might need though, just in case the agency called for his assistance. They knew where to find him; they had picked the rally point themselves.

When they finally touched the ground, Lex let out a sigh of relief. The worst part of his journey was over at least.

Another half hour later, he had managed to find his suitcases - seeing that this move might be permanent, he brought out the big ones - and was making his way through the huge airport. Because most of his travels usually went beyond the borders of the US, it had been a long time since he last set foot in this one. For a brief moment, he wondered if the aliens would still be around.

Eventually he managed to find the car rental company that he had made a reservation at, load up all of his stuff, find something to eat, and settle in for the three-hour drive that lay ahead. Once he was in the privacy of his new vehicle, Lex allowed himself to take a quick look at the mark on the inside of his right wrist, twelve binary digits positioned at and in between the six points of a golden star, like he had so many times before.

For years, he had been trying to figure out what it meant. Soulmarks were supposed to contain a reference to something that was crucial to meeting your soulmate. It could range from the date or the place to a friend who would introduce you, but all marks had one thing in common: they were never obvious, and Lex's was no exception. Of course he could figure out the zeros and ones, those weren't the issue. The problem was that he literally didn't know where to start.

The result was that Lex had twelve different numbers, converted from their respective binary options, that meant absolutely nothing to him. And that was if he didn't entertain the option that it might be two numbers, one made up by the inner circle, and the other by the outer one. He had tried everything with those numbers (both the binary and decimal ones); ran them through databases, encrypted them, decrypted them, even googled them. Nothing stood out. Whatever those twelve digits stood for, it seemed to be completely random, which annoyed Lex more than he would like to admit. And he definitely didn't know what to do with the star.

Figuring out this kind of stuff was his job. It was what he had always been good at, but even becoming the best there was in the field apparently wouldn't do to solve the code on his own body. He remembered one time when he had let out his frustrations about it again and Terri had told him not to worry about it. Even if it meant he wasn't the best decoder in the world, he was still amazing at taking the romance out of it. Involuntarily, it had made him smile at his own expense. _Oh Terri, you have no idea how much I still miss you sometimes._

He sighed at the memory and started the car. With or without the meaning of that number, he would find his soulmate. They were all he still had to look forward to. That was why he left Virginia, to make sure he didn't die before he got a chance to meet them. He just hoped that if things did go down, they would be just as lucky.

Soon Lex had left the city behind and was making his way through the seemingly endless prairie. Of all the places they could relocate to, the Midwest was probably the last one he would have picked out. As a matter of fact, he didn't understand why anyone would want to live in such a dead landscape anyway. Even if you weren't a city person, there had to be less... empty places to live, right? But hey, best case scenario millions of people wouldn't die, and he could return to the East Coast in a week or something.

It took him another pit stop to get more tea, but then he finally crossed the Kansas border, and from there it was only half an hour before he reached his final destination. Jericho. It wasn't much - especially not compared to D.C. - but it could have been worse. Lex had even managed to find a nice enough apartment to rent during his stay. It was on the second floor of a small, hopefully quiet bookshop right on Main Street, and for a good price that he had paid well in advance, he had convinced the owner to not ask him too many personal questions. Even if she thought he was a criminal on the run or something, it didn't really matter. Either Lex would be gone again before the end of the month, or she would soon have much bigger problems than a shady renter anyway.

He easily found his way to Main Street and pulled up in front of one of the cozy buildings. The sign above the door read _Standard Bookstore_ , which made him smile a little. Lex now remembered the name from the pictures he had seen of the property. He had thought it was a funny choice then too. A little bell rang when he opened the door and walked into the room full of stuffed bookcases. The array of different shelves and chairs looked a bit chaotic, but at the same time it made the place feel kind of homely.

After a couple of seconds, a woman a little younger than him came dashing out of a room at the back. Her blonde hair hung around her shoulders in messy curls and she was wearing a _Harry Potter_ shirt.

"Hi!" she greeted him with a broad smile. "Can I help you?"

He smiled back at her. "Hey. I'm Lex. I'm here for the apartment?"

Her blue eyes grew big. "Oh! Yeah, of course." She walked up to him and shook his hand. "I'm Ellen, the owner of the place." She motioned around. "Welcome to my favorite place on earth!"

Lex laughed. Damn, he was already starting to like her. "Thanks. I like the name, by the way."

"I was in a very creative mood when I came up with that," she told him. "Come on, I'll show you around. Must have been a pretty long trip from D.C. Did you drive here?"

Ellen lead him to the backroom, through another door, and up a flight of stairs as he answered. "No, I flew into Denver and rented a car there."

"Oh yeah, that does sound like a better idea," she said while unlocking the door to the apartment.

He followed her into a sparsely furnished living room with a kitchen attached to it. It wasn't as modern as his own place had been, but not seriously outdated either, and everything seemed to be in great condition. Lex thought he could live here just fine for a few weeks.

"I left some of my old furniture, but feel free to get rid of it if you want something else. I don't need it anymore," Ellen said as she moved on to show him the other rooms.

Lex nodded along. Furnished had been one of the most important conditions for finding a place. He wasn't planning on devoting any time or money to the interior until his real home was gone, and he was still crossing all of his limbs that that wouldn't happen.

"You moved out?" he asked curiously.

"Yup," Ellen replied. "I went to live with my soulmate instead."

The happy look on her face made him smile. "Congratulations."

"Thanks." She opened a door in the small hallway. "This is the bathroom. The shower is pretty new, so that shouldn't give you any problems, and if the toilet acts up, just call me. It rarely happens, but I know how to handle it by now."

"Sounds good."

"What about you?" she asked as they walked back out. "You moving here all by yourself?"

Lex wondered if she had already forgotten about their agreement, or if she just wasn't ready to give up yet. "Yeah, it's just me for now," he decided to tell her.

"So what brings you from the big city life all the way to Jericho?"

Now he raised an eyebrow at her though, albeit with a half smile. She seemed nice so far, so he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. When she didn't get an answer, Ellen looked at him, and realization appeared on her face.

"Right," she nodded, opening the door to the bedroom. "Sorry, I forgot you had a no-questions rule."

With a friendly smile, Lex shrugged before he looked around the room. "That's alright."

"You're lucky I'm a booklover. I know how to appreciate a little mystery," she said, grinning. "Anyway, the bed and closet are the same as everything else; do with it whatever you want."

Ellen walked him back to the living room and showed him a small storage space attached to the kitchen. Then she pulled the keys back out of her pocket and held them out to him.

"The square one is for the bookshop in case it's closed, and the round one for the apartment. I've got spares too if you need any," she explained as Lex took them from her.

"You're putting an awful lot of trust in me not robbing your store," he joked.

"Well, you paid me enough to not have me too worried if a few books go missing. Which," she quickly added, "isn't permission to take any. If you want something, just ask, and I might be willing to make you a very good deal."

Nodding, Lex said, "That seems more than fair. I might take you up on that."

She smiled at him. "Well, in any case I'll leave you to it now. If you ever need help with anything, I'm right downstairs an awful lot of the time. Oh, and I'd be happy to show you around town later if you'd like. Just let me know."

"Thanks, Ellen," he said. "I'm gonna try to get some unpacking done, but I'll catch you afterwards."

Ellen approved and then went back downstairs. Lex thought to himself that it was probably for the best she already had a soulmate. He might have tried to hit on her otherwise, and this was not the time nor place for that. He couldn't get attached to Jericho, and definitely not to its people.

He stuck to his word and went back to the car to get all of his things. He had already decided to set up his equipment in the bedroom. It was hardly ideal, but he didn't exactly have many options to work with. Besides, as long as he didn't have a reason to need the more special stuff, he wouldn't unpack it yet, just to be safe. It wasn't easy to hide an antenna in an apartment. So, he grabbed a chair from the kitchen and turned the cupboard across from his bed into a makeshift desk.

It took a long while before he had everything set up. Much less long than most people would have taken with all of the computers and servers, but still long enough to need a break afterwards. For a moment he considered taking Ellen up on her offer, but then he decided he would rather do some exploring on his own first. Maybe that way he could find out some things about Jerico that would be of use after a nuclear attack _without_ drawing too much attention to himself.

Grabbing his wallet and new keys along the way, Lex left the apartment. It was late afternoon by now, and he should probably find a decent place to eat at later on. He pulled up Google Maps on his phone, hoping it would give him an idea of what was around while he walked to some other spots he wanted to check out.

His first stop was Jericho City Hall. Right now, Lex still had to assume that worst would come to worst and the terrorists were going to succeed. If they did, the most important thing would be to have a stable new basis. The CIA had to know if the local officials were able to take care of this town, and in case they weren't, if they would at least allow Lex's people to help, even though they had no idea the newcomers were secretly with the government. He was here now anyway, the least he could do was start preparing early. The location was why they had chosen this place, but it wasn't enough. In unexpected circumstances, people would do some really unexpected things, and Lex couldn't have that.

So, he walked into the large building at the end of Main Street. To his pleasant surprise, it also turned out to be where the sheriff's department was located. That sounded like a much better idea than trying to convince the mayor to have coffee with him, at least for a start.

Lex casually strolled into the reception area, taking his time to inspect the room. The sheriff's personal office was at the back, and one of the deputies quickly got up from his chair when he saw him. He was a broad guy with dark hair, about Lex's age. A few of his colleagues were also sitting at their desks, but they didn't pay much attention to him.

"Hi there," the deputy greeted him. He seemed really friendly, not the kind of guy Lex had expected in Midwestern law enforcement. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh, I'm actually just trying to get to know the town a little," Lex explained. "I just moved in right down the street. Name's Lex."

The deputy shook his hand. "Jimmy Taylor. Welcome to Jeri-"

He suddenly stopped as his eyes dropped down to their hands. Confused, Lex followed his gaze and noticed that his soulmark was visible with his sleeves rolled up. He looked back at Jimmy in shock the moment he realized the man must have recognized it, his brain immediately conjuring up a series of questions. _Does Jimmy...? Are we...?_

Before he could ask any of them, the deputy let go of his hand and turned around. "Hey Bill, can you come over here for a second?"

Wait, what? Lex's brain was having an awful time making sense of the situation. He had no idea what to think as he watched one of the other deputies get up and walk over to them. To make things worse, once Lex got a look at the other man, he couldn't remember how to think at all.

God, he was cute.

His shining, light-brown hair was neatly parted to the right but still seemed to have a little mind of its own if the way it slightly curled at the ends was any indication. His eyes were intense, with just a hint of playfulness in them. His features were handsome, although not in that typical, obvious way. His uniform fit him _very_ well, and Lex had forgotten how much he liked uniforms until then. Especially those pants. Someone should take them off.

He was now regretting telling himself not to form any attachments in Jericho. He knew it was only for the best, but right now it was also really unfortunate. Then again, would meaningless sex count as an attachment? Technically speaking, that might be a gray enough area for him to try out.

"Lex, this is one of my colleagues, Bill Koehler," Jimmy luckily interrupted his thoughts before they got even worse. "Bill, Lex here is new to Jericho. I thought you might wanna show him some good places to have dinner around town. And hey, maybe you can compare soulmarks too while you're at it."

With that he walked away, and Lex stared at his back in utter confusion. At the other side of the counter, Bill seemed equally surprised. It was only when they exchanged a look that it suddenly dawned on Lex what exactly Jimmy had just said. Did he really mean what it had sounded like?

"Wait, did he just-?" Bill said, mirroring Lex's thoughts.

Before he got a chance to answer, the deputy was unbuttoning the cuffs on his right sleeve, and Lex waited because he couldn't believe what was happening. He just looked at Bill's wrist until the fabric was pulled back and revealed a golden, six-pointed star encircled with digits. He didn't even need to read them; he had known them by heart for as long as he could remember.

"Have you seen this before?" Bill's voice pulled his eyes away from the mark and back to meet his own.

Lex huffed out a laugh. "That's one way to put it," he said, raising his hand again, this time with the palm up.

"Holy shit," Bill breathed out, and he couldn't disagree.

This was one hell of an attachment.


	2. Chapter 2

Bill stared at the star on the wrist of the stranger - Lex - in front of him. This man was actually his soulmate. Of course he had always known that it couldn't be anyone from Jericho because he would have already met them a long time ago if they were, but he also never could have guessed that his soulmate was just going to walk into his office one day. That would be way too easy, especially since the meaning of their mark was such a mystery to him. And yet here Lex was, and with his soft, slightly longer hair and curious, golden eyes, he was even more attractive than Bill had ever dared to dream of.

"Uhm," he started intelligently. "Hi."

Lex let out a laugh and let his hand drop to the counter as a series of emotions shot through his eyes, too fast for Bill to make out what they were. "Wow, hi. It's nice to meet you."

"You too," Bill said, trying to regain his composure while he redid the sleeve of his shirt. "So, you're new in town, huh? What brought you to Jericho?"

He watched Lex open his mouth, close it again, and shake his head. "Sorry, I'm still... I can't believe this is actually happening."

Bill laughed at that. "Yeah, trust me, it's not just you." Then he remembered what Jimmy had just said. He might as well make work of that because he had no idea what else to say to the guy he was supposed to spend the rest of his life with anyway. "Hey, if you want, I could do that. Show you a nice place to eat later, that is."

The smile Lex gave him made him glad for it. "That would be pretty great actually. I was still gonna go look for something to eat after exploring the town."

"Well, I'm off in forty minutes. Gotta go home to change first, but then I can meet you at your place and we can take it from there?" he suggested.

"Just get out of here already, Koehler!" Connor's voice called behind him, and Bill shot him a glare over his shoulder.

Behind his own desk, Jimmy shrugged. "I mean, he's not entirely wrong, man. We'll last forty minutes without you."

"You sure?" Bill asked, frowning. He didn't want to get in trouble or something. "What if Dawes gets back?"

"If he makes a big deal out of it, we'll take the blame, but I doubt he will," Jimmy reassured him with a supportive smile.

"Yeah man, it's not everyday you run into your soulmate. I'm sure Dawes will understand," Connor added with a grin.

Well, Bill wasn't going to pass up on a chance to leave a little earlier on any day, let alone this one. He looked back at Lex. "What do you think? We could have a drink before dinner or walk around town a little."

"Sounds perfect to me," the other man agreed. His eyes were sparkling with something Bill couldn't quite place. It might have been curiosity, or excitement, or a little bit of mischief, or maybe a combination of all three.

"I do still have to pass by my place," he warned Lex. "You can come along if that isn't too crazy for you."

Lex grinned. "A guy taking me home with him even before our first date? Nah, I've had worse."

"Give me a few drinks and we'll see if you still feel the same then," Bill joked while he walked back to his desk and started gathering his stuff.

Once he returned to his newfound soulmate, he noticed Lex was biting his bottom lip, and Bill wondered what he was thinking. He also wondered what it would feel like to kiss those lips till he was completely out of breath. Shaking off the thought for now, he said a quick goodbye to his two co-workers.

"Be safe, you two!" Connor laughed, and Bill exchanged a look with Jimmy.

"Have fun, guys," his partner said, ignoring the statement too. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Will do." He motioned for Lex to follow him out of the department and asked, "So, did you drive here?"

"Nope," Lex said. "I moved in right here on Main Street, so I was just walking around a little."

Well, that couldn't be cheap. Not that anything in Jericho could be considered seriously expensive, but still. "Really? Where do you live?"

"Apartment above the bookshop," Lex told him when they left the building. He gestured down the road at Ellen Robbins's store. "Just moved in today."

Bill nodded along. "Good choice. Ellen's great, I'm sure she'll be happy to help you with anything you need."

As he led Lex to where his car was parked, the man smiled. "Yeah, she seems really nice. I'm glad she was fine with handling everything over the phone too so I could move in right away."

"Wait, you really just got here today?"

"Oh yeah." Lex glanced at his watch. "Entered Jericho about two hours ago."

Damn, what were the odds that Bill would run into his soulmate only a few hours after Lex had set foot in the only place he had actually ever lived in? He shook his head in disbelief and unlocked the car. "Hey, don't take this the wrong way, but I'm still kinda waiting to wake up and find out this is all just a dream."

Laughing, Lex walked around to the passenger side. He opened the door, then stopped to lean on it as he looked at Bill. "I hear you there. I mean, for all I know I'm about to get into the car of a serial killer or something. But it still makes sense, you know?"

"Yeah," Bill agreed. Every time he looked at Lex, it made perfect sense. Of course they didn't even know each other yet, and he wasn't stupid enough to believe he was already in love or something, but he liked what he had seen of the guy so far. He wanted to get to know him better. And that was a pretty great start.

They stepped in, and he started the car. "So, where did you used to live?"

"D.C. area," Lex answered. "I gotta tell you, this place is quite different from that. Although I'm betting the countryside has its perks too, right?"

"Oh, definitely," Bill was quick to say. "I'm not saying I wouldn't like to see a little more of the world sometime, but I grew up in this town and I don't think I could ever leave it. Jericho's basically been my home all my life, I know all the people, my family lives here, my friends are here, my job is here... I've got everything I need."

"Do you have Thai food?"

Taken aback, he actually had to think about that for a second. "Uhm... Well, we've got Chinese," he hesitantly said, not sure if Lex was being serious or not.

To his relief, the other man laughed. "Ah well, I'll get used to it."

"If you're that much of a city guy, what brought you to a town like Jericho?" Bill asked, curious now. People rarely moved here unless they had a specific reason. It was hardly a place known for its long list of new possibilities to explore.

Lex shrugged and looked out of the window. "Different circumstances and all of that. It's kind of a long story."

As he turned into his street, Bill looked at him out of the corner of his eye. His instincts wanted to press on, but he reminded himself that this was supposed to be a date, not an interrogation. There was no reason for him to suspect Lex of wanting to hide something from him.

"Well, we've got all night," he ended up saying. "I'd be happy to listen to it over dinner."

Lex simply smiled in response, and Bill pulled up in front of his house. Suddenly he realized he had no idea what state the place was in. He was generally a pretty neat person, but this was his soulmate he was about to show around. Walking up to the porch, he tried to remember if there were any messes he had left lying around that morning.

"Looks like a nice house for a single guy," Lex pulled him from his thoughts. "Wait, you are a single guy, right?"

"Oh yeah," Bill was quick to reassure him. The idea that either of them might be involved with someone else at the moment hadn't even occurred to him yet. "Am I wrong to assume you are too?"

"Don't worry, you are completely right," Lex said while Bill unlocked the front door.

He let them both in before taking off his shoes. It was a ridiculously small detail, but it made him kind of happy that Lex followed his example without him even having to ask. Apparently that was what soulmates were for.

After he had seated Lex in the kitchen and offered him something to drink, Bill hurried to his bedroom. He quickly put away his gun and took off his uniform. He would just throw that in the laundry later. Right now he had to figure out what the hell he was going to wear. Lex had been casually walking around town in a button-up, how was he supposed to top that?

It took a lot of staring at the contents of his closet and some internal debates, but eventually Bill decided on a dark green shirt and black khakis. He ran over to the bathroom to wash up and then got changed in record time. When he returned to the living room, Lex was still seated on the couch with his glass of water. Once he spotted Bill, his eyes roamed over the new outfit, which was enough of a confirmation of his choice. He hadn't missed the way Lex had looked him over back at the department, even if he hadn't paid much attention to it at the time. Of course he was flattered, but Bill didn't flirt while he was on duty. Now that he was off, on the other hand...

"So, can I compete with the other city people yet?"

Lex's eyes lit up as he laughed. "Oh yeah, you would do just fine." He pouted his lips as he looked Bill over once more. "I almost don't mind that the uniform is gone."

Continuing this conversation without something for Bill to cover his lower parts with would be a horrible idea, so he suggested they got going instead. He had decided he might as well give Lex the real Midwest experience right away and take him to Cunningham's, a small, classic American restaurant that he loved. It wasn't too fancy but still better than your average diner, and the building used to be a saloon or something back in the day, although it was hard to see from the outside.

The entire drive there Lex spent looking around the town, and sometimes Bill would point out important places like the library or the road to the medical center. He was glad to see that Lex seemed genuinely interested in learning more about Jericho. Talking about his hometown always filled him with a sense of pride.

In the restaurant, he gave Lex a moment to appreciate the old woodwork of the place before they took a table by the window. Logan, a college student who worked as a waiter here, walked up to them right away.

"Hey, Bill," the kid greeted him with a smile before looking over at Lex. "Who's your friend? I don't think I've seen you around town yet."

Right then Bill realized that he had no idea how to introduce Lex yet. Soulmate was such a loaded word. Boyfriend? Were they already boyfriends at this point? Crap, he didn't even know Lex's last name!

Before he got a chance to make a fool of himself, Lex answered for him. "I'm his date, Lex. I'm new to town."

Logan grinned at them. "A date, huh? Well done, Bill. Can I get you two something to drink while you look over the menu?"

"I'll have a beer, thanks," Bill said, relieved that they could leave it at that for now.

"And a glass of red for me," Lex added.

"Got it," Logan said with a nod. "I'll be right back."

Once it was just the two of them again, Bill explained, "Logan lives at the end of my street. Good kid, even if he's a little too curious sometimes."

Lex shrugged and took the menu. "That's alright. I guess it's kinda what I signed up for moving to a town like this. Now, what's good in this place?"

"Pretty much everything," Bill huffed as he looked over what the restaurant had to offer. "I highly recommend their burgers. And the steak here is amazing, you should definitely try one at some point."

"Yeah, I'm usually more of a chicken person, so I think I'll stick to a burger today then."

Bill dropped his menu, wondering if he'd really just heard that right.

"What?" Lex asked, a hint of worry seeping into his eyes.

"You really don't like beef?" Bill questioned in disbelief.

Now the corner of Lex's mouth turned up into a playful half smile. "Sure, I like beef, but most of the time I just prefer chicken. Am I gonna have to compete with the local cows for your attention?"

He laughed at that. "Well, I can't make any promises. But if you're gonna go with a burger, I'd suggest the prairie one. That's my personal favorite."

"Alright," Lex said, putting down the menu. "That sounds fitting. And I trust your judgement."

Within a minute, Logan was back with their drinks and took their orders. Lex asked for his burger with a side of fries, and Bill picked the sirloin with potato wedges, medium rare.

After Logan had left again, he raised an eyebrow at Lex. "Do I wanna know how you have your steak when they're out of chicken?"

Lex made a face. "I'm not a savage, you know. Medium, medium rare is the only decent way to have a steak."

"Glad we agree on that," Bill said before taking a drink of his beer. "Soulmate or not, if you had said well, I would have had to let you go."

"And I couldn't blame you," Lex agreed, raising his glass at him. After a sip of wine, he leaned forward on the table and said, "So, Bill Koehler. I've already seen where you work, where you live, and where and what you like to eat. What else should I know about you?"

Usually the whole being a deputy thing was a good place to start a conversation, but he guessed he was going to have to come up with something else this time. "Well, you've also already met my best friend, Jimmy."

"Oh, the other deputy?"

Bill nodded. "That's him. He's been my partner for years. Best one I could wish for."

"He seemed like a great guy," Lex said. "Although I gotta say, he had me really confused for a moment when he saw my mark and called you over."

"Oh yeah, that was quite the bomb he dropped. I wasn't even paying attention, I thought he just needed my help with a piece of paperwork or something like that," Bill laughed. A vision of Lex and him having a barbecue with the Taylors suddenly popped up in his head. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself, but he liked that thought. "You should properly meet him sometime."

Lex's soft smile warmed his heart a little. "I'd like that. What kind of stuff do you guys usually do?"

It was only now that he realized how much of a cliché he probably was. "The classics I'm afraid. Watch football, have a drink at Bailey's with Stanley... He's another good buddy of mine. His farm is at the east side of town but I have no doubt you'll see him at the tavern soon enough. Sometimes the lot of us go hunting too."

A playful look in his eyes, Lex slowly nodded. "You're right, that sounds exactly like what I was expecting."

Well, two could play that game, Bill thought. "Okay, big city man. What do you do in your spare time?"

"I do like to visit a bar sometimes too, I'll give you that," Lex admitted. "Aside from that, musicals." He paused for a second. "And well, I like working with computers."

Bill was trying to decide if he was actually being serious. "What kind of musicals? Like... _The Sound of Music_?"

Smiling, Lex said, "Not necessarily my absolute favorite but yeah. Almost anything goes, really. Broadway too, I've seen _Wicked_ more times than I can remember."

"But not like _High School Musical_ , right?" Bill asked, still feeling skeptic. He had personally never given musicals any thought at all, and he hadn't expected that he would ever need to.

Lex burst out in laughter and shook his head. "No, I think I'm a little too old for that, thanks."

"Hey, I've heard weirder things today," Bill defended himself, hands raised in mock surrender. "I've never seen a musical, cut me some slack here."

" _Never_?"

He shrugged. "No, I just haven't ever felt the need to watch one."

"We're gonna have to fix that," Lex announced in a serious voice. "I'll just take you to Broadway sometime."

As he said it, he got a distant look in his eyes, and Bill wondered what he was thinking about. Before he got a chance to ask, Logan arrived with their food. His steak was perfect as always, demanding he took a minute to fully appreciate its flavor before inquiring after Lex's burger.

"Well, you were right," his soulmate said after his first bite. "This is really damn good."

Feeling a bit proud that his favorite place apparently met Lex's standards, Bill gave him a smug smile. "Glad you like it."

Then he remembered what they had been talking about and decided it was about time for the tables to turn. "So," he started, forking a potato wedge. "You now basically know everything interesting there is to say about me, but I don't even know your last name yet. Time for you to tell me about yourself."


	3. Chapter 3

Lex knew exactly what to say.

What to say was that he was in between jobs now. That he used to work as a greeting card writer in Washington, but unfortunately, the company had to cut back on expenses and let him go. Unable to find a new job, done with the city, and ready for a fresh start, Lex had picked a random spot on the map and kept on picking until he landed on something small enough to try and make a quiet life for himself.

That was the story he kept in case someone really pushed, or if the authorities came asking questions or something. Anyone else he preferred to keep in the dark if they didn't mind. At least for now, until he knew how long he was going to be here.

But since Bill was asking and probably wouldn't give up, Lex knew what to say.

The problem was that he didn't _want_ to say it.

This was his soulmate for crying out loud! Even if he only knew the guy for an hour or something, Lex didn't want to lie to him. That was no way to start a relationship. Sure, he had done exactly that many times before, but look how that turned out. Besides, Bill was his soulmate, this was supposed to be different.

He couldn't tell him the truth either though. Even if he was allowed to, it would still be too much and too soon.

"Well, I just told you I like musicals," he started, trying to figure out what the hell he was going to do.

Bill nodded. "And computers. And Thai food. And you lived in D.C."

"That's right," Lex admitted. Then he made up his mind. "I still need to find a job here. You happen to know about anything?"

"Depends on what you're looking for," Bill said before putting another piece of steak in his mouth. "What did you do in D.C.?"

He had walked right into that one, hadn't he? Well, this was his last chance to stick to the story if he wanted to. Lex took a deep breath and said, "I worked with computers."

"Like maintenance?"

"No, more like software development actually. I can't really talk about the details. Company secrets," he answered with a smile while trying to suppress an instinctive sense of panic. He had become so used to lying all the time that his brain didn't know how to handle the truth outside of work anymore.

Bill's laugh tore right through his worries though. "Guess I should be glad you didn't move to Silicon Valley then."

"I'm really happy I didn't too," Lex told him truthfully, and it felt like a bit of the weight on his shoulders disappeared. "Oh, and I'm pretty good with maintenance too by the way, in case you know a place that needs help."

His soulmate chewed on a bite with a pensive look on his face. "Not on the top of my head, but I can ask around. Maybe Ellen could use someone for the store's website?"

Lex shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. It's not urgent or anything, but I'll give it a shot."

"You planning on keeping the apartment or are you still looking for something permanent?" Bill asked.

"You offering your place?" Lex joked before he could help himself.

Bill raised an eyebrow at him, but there was humor in his eyes. "Not just yet. Maybe if you last through tonight."

"Careful, I might make you keep that promise."

The smile he got in return made him think that, yes, he would definitely make sure Bill kept it one day. If he didn't have to go back to the CIA at least. Dammit.

"So let me get this straight," the other man went on. "Aside from going to bars sometimes, we don't really have much in common, do we?"

Lex pouted his lips in thought. "I don't know about that. We might surprise each other."

"Oh, I'm sure of that," Bill laughed. "I still don't even know your last name."

"Would you believe me if I said I don't have one?"

With a snort, Bill shook his head. "Everyone's got a last name."

"I'll make you a deal," Lex proposed. "At the end of the night, if I haven't scared you off yet, I'll tell you."

Bill squinted his eyes in curiosity before he huffed out a laugh. "Fine, I'll play along. I don't know why we're playing in the first place, but..."

"I have my reasons," Lex said, trying to sound playful instead of defensive. This was exactly the kind of conversation he had been afraid of. He just hoped Bill could get past it.

The expression on his soulmate's face remained somewhat skeptic. "You're not a criminal or something, right?"

Oh, if only he knew how many criminals Lex had stopped in his years. "Definitely not. I've always been a good citizen, don't worry."

That seemed to put Bill's mind at rest a bit, and Lex realized that he might not be the only nervous one here, even if it was for different reasons. He really did want them to learn to trust each other though.

"So tell me," he went on. "What made you want to be a deputy?"

That turned out to be the right question to ask. Bill went on an elaborate explanation of how much he loved the community of Jericho. He told Lex all about wanting to do something useful and help protect his hometown. He had always known he wasn't cut out for the academic field and preferred some more action once in a while anyway. Lex was starting to understand that Bill really wasn't the kind of guy to just sit behind a desk the entire day. More importantly, he was glad to find out that his soulmate wasn't one of those assholes who became a deputy just to boss people around and feel important. If anyone got why Lex did what he did, it would be Bill. He cared even more about Jericho than Lex did about his country, something he rarely saw in people on the east coast.

The topic shifted towards Bill telling stories about weird things him and Jimmy had encountered on patrols. Lex decided he enjoyed listening to him talk. The man made him laugh more often than he had in a long time, even if some of his jokes were the absolute worst. Talking to Bill just... came easy. And since Lex's job was the definition of complicated, it was always a relief to have a conversation like this.

Lex also thought to himself that he really was going to have to get to know Jimmy a bit better. And Stanley too, from the sound of it. Apparently the guy owned a farm on the east side of town, and Bill promised there would be another barbecue before the end of summer in case Lex wanted to come along.

"Are you already asking me on a second date?" Lex asked with a grin before he took a sip of his wine.

Bill raised his eyebrows at him. "I sure hope I don't have to wait till Stanley throws a barbecue to take you out again."

Something inside Lex's stomach started to flutter a little at that. He decided not to let it show too much for now, but he definitely liked the way Bill flirted. Then again, a little encouragement never hurt anyone. "If it's up to me, you can take me anytime you want."

If Lex hadn't been directly looking into his eyes, he might have missed how Bill's pupils dilated just a tiny bit. He suppressed a smirk and tried to focus on the last piece of his burger instead of on what would happen if the deputy decided to take him up on his offer. Literally. What was the time limit on having socially acceptable sex with your soulmate anyway? Surely five dates didn't apply to the person you were meant to spend your life with.

After a drink of his beer, Bill cleared his throat. "You wanna get dessert?"

Lex had to actually bite his tongue to keep from saying the first thing on his mind. God, Bill was going to kill him.

"Actually," Lex tried to get his mind out of the gutter, "I was thinking maybe when we're done, we could go do the one thing we have in common."

"Alright," Bill said with a slow nod. "We could go to Bailey's." Then a frown appeared on his face. "But I should warn you there's probably gonna be people I know there, and they'll all wanna know who you are."

"That's okay, you've gotten me pretty curious too by now," Lex smiled.

Bill didn't seem convinced. "You sure? Some guys can be a lot, we could also just get out of town."

"Nope." Lex decidedly shook his head. "We're going to Bailey's." Tonight he wanted to have fun and be a normal guy, and that included meeting friends and getting to know the town that was going to- Oh, shit.

"What?" Bill asked, immediately looking worried, and Lex cursed himself. "Is something wrong?"

Yes, something was wrong. Terrifically wrong. He could get away with Bill knowing some kind of half truth about his life, but not with an entire town doing so! Not with Bill introducing him as Lex, his soulmate that moved here from D.C., used to work the computers of a secretive company, and refused to tell him his last name. That was just begging for disaster. He wasn't supposed to make attachments here.

But it was already too late for that, wasn't it?

"Do you trust me?" he asked the man in front of him.

The frown deepened. "Well... I mean, I want to, Lex, but... God..."

"I know," Lex sighed. "It's too soon. Trust me, I know, but this is important."

Bill seemed to think about it for a long moment. Then he nodded.

"I..." God, why was this so hard? "Look, I want to meet your friends and family and the whole damn town, I do. But... Even if we don't go to Bailey's tonight... Can you not tell people too much about me?"

"You mean us being soulmates?" Bill asked, and the understanding look in his eyes made Lex's heart melt.

"No, it's not that," he sighed. "I mean the kind of stuff I just told you. About my job and all of that."

Now Bill just looked confused. "What, the software thing? Why not?"

"I promise I'm not a criminal," Lex said. "But I can't really tell you."

That didn't seem to help the situation. "Sorry, but that isn't really comforting."

Nodding, Lex tried to come up with something that sounded reasonable. "I know, and I know I'm being really vague here, but you gotta believe me when I say I can't have anyone knowing that stuff right now."

"But..." Bill shook his head. "Well, what if they ask? What am I supposed to say then? I can't just lie to my friends, Lex."

"I know it doesn't make sense right now, but if you knew-"

"Then tell me," Bill interrupted him, clearly getting agitated. "If it's so damn important, tell me what's going on."

Lex let out another sigh. This was going all wrong, he never should have said anything, this was _exactly why he had a cover story_. "I can't."

Bill huffed, and it wasn't fair how good he looked when he was biting his bottom lip. "Yeah well, you also can't expect me to lie for you when you don't even want to tell me the truth." He put down his cutlery and pushed back his chair. "I think it's better if we get going now."

"Bill, wait," Lex urged, basically throwing himself over the table to grab his soulmate's wrist. "Please, you gotta trust me on this."

"Trust's gotta come both ways, Lex," Bill told him, a more serious look in his eyes than Lex had seen so far.

In that moment, all he wanted was to keep Bill at their table. He had only just found him, he wasn't going to let go so soon again. "Jacobs."

"What?"

"My last name used to be Sanders," Lex explained while he tried to make his heart stop pounding like crazy.

Bill was frowning again, but at least he remained in his seat. "What do you mean, 'used to be'?"

Lex took a deep breath as he started telling the truth for the first time in years. "I got rid of it. Didn't want to be associated with my family anymore."

Immediately Bill's eyes softened a bit, and Lex didn't know if he was happy or frustrated with it because pity was the exact reason why he never told anyone about this.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Bill said. "What happened? You wanna talk about it?"

He laughed, but there was little humor in it. "God, no." His eyes met Bill's. "Thank you, and maybe one day, but it's not a happy story and not one I like to think about very often. My point is... You're right. It's a two-way street. And believe me, I wanna tell you everything, I do..."

"But you can't," Bill finished for him.

"I really can't," Lex said with a sad smile. "Not yet anyway. But, Bill?" He raised his hand to show the star that they shared. "Consider this a promise that one day I will."

His soulmate seemed to be contemplating it as he rubbed his forehead. Eventually he sighed. "Okay."

Lex's eyebrows shot up. "Okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Bill smiled a little at him. "I won't tell anyone until you say I can."

What on earth had he done to deserve a guy like Bill? "Thank you," he said from the bottom of his heart.

Bill leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. "That's what we're for, right? To get through the complicated stuff?"

"I don't know, I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to start with that on a first date yet," Lex joked.

"I think it's safe to say this is a special case anyway."

His lips curled up into a smile. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad you're my special case."

The look Bill gave him in return made Lex wonder how long it would take before he was allowed to consider himself being in love. The deputy seemed to just have a talent for pushing all of the right buttons. He knew soulmates were supposed to be perfect for you, but he never could have imagined it being like this.

"Hey, how about this," Bill pulled him from his thoughts. "We finish our food, and then just order another drink here. No bar, no people to ask you any questions. That is if you're okay with sticking to wine because they don't really have much else here."

Lex beamed at him. "That sounds pretty much perfect."

While they were finishing their last bites, Bill gestured for Logan again. He ordered a non-alcoholic beer because he was driving, and Lex asked for another glass of wine before Bill told the kid to keep them coming.

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" Lex questioned in a teasing voice.

Bill shrugged, a smile playing around his lips. "Maybe."

"You are a terrible influence, Deputy Koehler." Someday, he decided, he would take Bill to a bar so they could enjoy the buzz of a few too many drinks together, but tonight he wanted to take it easy.

"Don't tell my boss," the other man joked back. Then his expression grew a bit more serious again. "So, I know family is off the table, but what about friends? There's gotta be people in D.C. that you left behind."

Lex's mind immediately flashed to Terri and Stiles. "Well, there's a few people but most are co-workers or acquaintances. Honestly, I haven't really tried to make actual friends in probably too long."

"Why not?" Bill asked, and Lex told him.

Of course it wasn't the whole truth again, but he tried. He told Bill that he knew them from work but that they had gotten along really well. He talked about the nights they had gone out together, about the time Terri invited him to Thanksgiving dinner, about her complicated relationship with Stiles and their discussions that he had always tried to stay out of. He even mentioned how they had been there for him during the whole Olivia ordeal, although he definitely left out the part that it was actually the Australian government that was trying to blackmail him.

Bill's jaw basically dropped at the story. "Holy shit, she did that to you?"

"Yup," Lex sighed. It was still a painful memory, but he had mostly gotten over it. Through the years, he had realized that there were more important things in life to focus on. "Terri, Stiles, our boss Joshua, they were amazing. I don't know what I would've done without them."

"Then what happened?" Bill asked. Lex could see in his eyes that he already knew it wouldn't be good.

"They were in an accident together," he said, surprised at how hard it was to get the words out, even after all that time. "They didn't make it."

His soulmate's eyes filled with compassion. "My god. Lex, I'm so sorry."

He took a deep breath and his fingers started drumming on the table out of habit. "It's been a long time."

"Hey." A tough hand wrapped around his, and he looked up into Bill's light brown gaze. "I know if I lost Jimmy or Stanley, I'd be devastated. No matter how long it had been."

Lex's heart skipped a beat and he was pretty sure that if he wasn't careful, he was going to start crying. Which was so not how a first date was supposed to go. "Wow, we're really skipping through the stages, huh? First fight, you having to comfort me. You basically already asked me to move in with you."

Bill laughed, but he didn't let go of his hand. He actually started to rub his thumb over it instead. "Well, I think we deserved a head start."

They went back to the more casual topics after that, ranging from favorite color to places they had always wanted to visit. Bill laughed at the horror on Lex's face at the idea of getting his own pick-up truck now that he lived in Kansas. Lex decided that at one point he was going to have to educate Bill on politics. And on ways to spend your free time that weren't football. And no matter what Bill said, he was never ever, _ever_ going to live on a farm.

All jokes aside, they got along great though. It was exactly like Bill had said: it made sense. _They_ made sense. Despite their differences, Bill was incredibly sweet and didn't mind when Lex opened his inappropriate mouth before he could help himself. And he had to admit he loved how funny Bill thought his own jokes were. It was kind of adorable.

By the time Bill pulled up in front of the bookstore, it was well past midnight, and Lex had only just now realized that he still had to make his bed. Maybe he'd just crash on the couch for tonight.

His date/boyfriend/soulmate/whatever stepped out of the car with him and leaned against the side of the car. "God, I'm glad I've got a late shift tomorrow," he mumbled while rubbing his eyes for a moment.

"Not gonna lie, right now I don't mind not having a job yet either," Lex replied. Then he offered a playful smile. "I haven't made you regret taking me out, have I?"

"Not even a little bit," Bill answered as he walked around the vehicle.

Lex raised an eyebrow at him. "You sure about that? I haven't made it easy on you so far."

The intense look he got in return went straight to his heart and basically made him feel like a lovesick teenager. "Oh yeah, I'm sure."

For once, Lex didn't know what to say. He just couldn't stop looking at Bill. Eventually, all he managed was a simple, "Good."

"Well, I'd be happy to go out with you again sometime soon." Bill smiled, showing those dimples that Lex was pretty sure he already loved, and was he really blushing a little now?

That would do it. Lex decisively put a step forward and let his hand trail down Bill's arm to close around his wrist. "Glad to hear it. I've got plans for us."

When Bill didn't step back, he took that as his cue. Placing his other hand on the man's shoulder, Lex closed the space between them to kiss him. Bill's lips were soft and tender as he kissed him back, a hand slipping around his waist, and Lex felt like he could just melt right into him. Their mouths moved slowly, exploring, careful not to rush things. It was the kind of kiss that made a comfortable warmth spread throughout his body, ready to completely ignite him at the slightest push.

They would save that for another time though. As much as Lex wanted to keep his soulmate right there for the rest of the night, he also realized they had something worth cherishing, and the moment Bill pulled back a bit, he knew their first date was already perfect as it was.

Bill's slightly heavy breath tickled his lips as they looked into each other's eyes. "Wow," he muttered while raising his hand to tug a strand of hair behind Lex's ear. When the deputy's thumb lightly stroked his sideburns, he nearly flung himself at Bill again.

"Would it be too much if the next time we went out was tomorrow?" he wondered out loud.

A smile lit up Bill's features. "Not at all," he said in a soft voice.

Lex had to get another quick kiss, but then he managed to let go of Bill and actually wish him goodnight. Bill watched as he unlocked the door to the bookshop, and Lex kept looking back at him until he had to go through the door at the back. Once he finally closed it behind him, he let out a deep breath.

Today he had met his soulmate, and if he was being honest with himself, he was already basically crazy in love with the guy. Suddenly it seemed to hardly matter anymore what was going to happen to the country. Either way, Lex was going to do everything he could to keep Bill Koehler with him.


	4. Chapter 4

When Lex woke up in his sloppily made bed the following morning, he was convinced that most of the previous day had actually been a dream. There was just no way he had stumbled into a pool of so much good luck.

There had to be a reason why he was only up this late though, and when he looked at his wrist, the soulmark on it immediately reminded him of a certain deputy's badge. He never could have guessed that was what it represented. And he still had no idea what those digits meant.

Lex glanced at his phone, repressed the urge to already send a text to the number Bill had given him at the restaurant last night, and got up to go shower. Afterwards, he realized that Bill had totally messed up his plans to go grocery shopping yesterday, so his fridge was still very much empty. He went downstairs cursing himself for not making sure there was caffeine in the house before anything else.

"Morning," Ellen greeted him when he walked into the store. "I didn't see you anymore yesterday. Thought Jericho had already scared you away again."

"Quite the opposite actually," Lex told her.

That got him a questioning look, and he decided to screw the no-attachments rule. Sure, he had to keep his job a secret, but the world might end in two weeks, and if Bill had made him realize anything, it was that he was done being lonely.

So, he said, "You'll never guess who I ran into yesterday."

Ellen raised an eyebrow at him. "The president?"

"Nope." He showed her his mark. "My soulmate."

Her eyes nearly popped out of her head at that. "No way," she gasped, leaning on the counter. "Here in Jericho? Who is it?"

Lex grinned at her. "You know Bill Koehler?"

"Deputy Bill Koehler is your soulmate?!" she called out. "Oh my god, you lucky bastard."

"Don't have to tell me."

"So what happened? How did you meet?" Ellen went on, and he told her all about the day before.

By the time he was done, she was grinning at him like crazy. "That is so cute. You guys are like a romance novel, you the mysterious city guy new in town and Bill the local country boy who's all over you from the start. All you're missing is an obstacle you have to overcome to be together."

He wondered if she would think twenty-five nuclear bombs made for a good plot element. "I think we're good like this."

Ellen shook her head. "I still can't believe it. Bill Koehler. Let me know if you two ever wanna have dinner together. I'd love to get to know him better, and Simon is dying to meet you too."

"I'll keep it in mind," Lex promised. "Hey, I was gonna do some grocery shopping, any place you recommend?"

She nodded to the door. "Gracie's is right across the street, can't get it much handier than that."

"Thanks," he said with a smile before walking out the door.

Midwestern supermarkets turned out to be pretty different from what he was used to, so it took him a while to find most of what he wanted, but he managed. At the end, his cart was stuffed with groceries and he had made a list on his phone with all the things he would just have to order online. While doing so, he might have also sent a quick text to Bill.

By the time Lex had finally hauled all of his bags up the stairs (after kindly refusing Ellen's offer to help), he was more than eager to see how the deputy had replied. All Lex had texted him was a casual good morning and such, but he hadn't forgotten their agreement from last night. He just hoped Bill was still up for it too.

Though when he opened the message, he was delighted.

_'Morning! Hey, remember I have a late shift today? I thought we could maybe meet up before if you want'_

Lex immediately started typing back. _'You bet, wanna come over and take it from there?'_

He didn't have to wait for a reply very long. _'On my way'_

The next ten minutes Lex rushed through the apartment to put away all of his groceries and make sure the living room looked decent enough. That last part honestly wasn't very hard since he had only unpacked personal belongings in his bedroom and the bathroom so far. Apart from a few books on the coffee table, he didn't own much that he could show people yet anyway. When leaving D.C., his main concern had been to get the essentials, which in Lex's case were clothes and computers.

Unimpressed by the bare look of the room, he went to check in the bedroom if there really wasn't anything else he could use for decoration. There was more computer equipment - God help him - but eventually he found an envelope with pictures. He knew immediately what they were. Lex didn't have many pictures, but these were special. Terri and him needed photos for a job one time and, at an unguarded moment, had goofed around with the camera a little themselves. They were in them either separately or together, some were of her and Stiles and the three of them, and at one point Joshua had joined for a group picture before urging them to get back to work.

Lex smiled at the memory before he put them all back, except for the one of the four of them. He didn't have a frame for it, but since Bill already knew about them anyway, he figured he might as well put it in the living room somewhere for now. It was a nice idea to have them there.

He was just setting it against a pile of books on the otherwise empty TV console when there was a knock on the door. Bill was waiting on the other side, dressed casually in shorts and a khaki shirt. "Hi."

"Hi to you too," Lex grinned. "Come on in."

Looking around while Lex closed the door behind him, Bill asked, "Hey, did Ellen know I was coming?"

Oh boy... "Uhm, no. But I kinda did tell her about us. I hope that's alright?"

"Sure," Bill said with a half smile. "Was just wondering why she basically pushed me up the stairs."

He laughed at that. "Yeah, she was really happy for us. She even suggested we should all have dinner together sometime." When it dawned on him that the other man was still standing, he quickly added, "Go ahead and take a seat. Can I get you something to drink?"

As Bill went to sit on the couch, he shook his head. "That's alright. I just had breakfast."

"Let me know when you change your mind," Lex told him while walking into the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. "Apologies in advance, but I only just went shopping, so I'm gonna have some crackers."

"Don't let me stop you," Bill answered, and Lex noticed that his eyes had landed on the picture. It was only when he settled on the other end of the couch with his mug and a plate of crackers that his soulmate pointed at it. "Those your friends?"

He nodded with a small smile. "Stiles, Terri, and our boss, Joshua. He died soon after the accident."

"Jesus, Lex," the deputy swore. "That's horrible."

"Tell me about it," he sighed. "Anyway, on to brighter topics. What's for lunch?"

Bill snorted. "You're eating breakfast and you're already thinking about lunch?"

"I'm thinking about all the nice places you'll hopefully take me to," Lex corrected him before taking a sip of his tea. As he did so, his gaze landed once again on the mark on his wrist.

"Hey, I was wondering about something this morning," he started. "Do you have any idea what our mark actually means?"

That seemed to catch Bill off guard. He looked at his own wrist. "Uhm... Well, I've always kinda known about the star. It was another reason why I joined the department actually. I figured it was important if I ever wanted to find you."

Lex could feel butterflies take off in his stomach at the words. He never could have guessed that Bill had been waiting for him for so long. "Funny. I probably wouldn't have gotten into technology as much as I did if it weren't for trying to decipher the numbers."

His soulmate's eyes grew big. "Wait, you know what it means then?"

"No," Lex admitted. "I mean, I can convert the binary just fine, but I never knew which digit to start with."

Bill stared at him for a long moment. Then he whispered, "Holy shit." Taken aback, Lex watched him stand up and start to pace around. "Oh god, of course you didn't know..."

"Didn't know what, Bill?" Lex asked, thoroughly confused.

"Where to start." Bill reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys. He handed them to Lex, who noticed that there was a key chain attached to them with the design of the department's badge. "I could be wrong but I always figured you read the number like you would the text, starting with the top left indent."

Lex stared at the words "Jericho Sheriff's Dept." in disbelief. Then he looked at his wrist. _001110010111._ After all those years, he finally knew. "Did- did you ever-?"

"I looked up how to convert it a while ago," Bill replied, sitting down again. "As far as I know, it says 919, but I have no idea what that means."

It was one of the many numbers on Lex's list, but unless Bill secretly owned a Porsche racing car, he couldn't immediately connect it to something meaningful either. Now that he was sure of the order, he should be able to dig a little deeper though. Besides, there were other codes that he could try to decipher it with.

"You know, I used to think it was maybe the date we would meet, but obviously that's not right," Bill continued. "September 19 is still over a week away... Maybe it's an important moment for us or something?"

"No, it should have something to do with us meeting," Lex sighed. "I don't know what yet, but I'll figure it out."

Bill seemed to think about it for a moment. "Well, you did walk into my office, so the badge part turned out right. How about what brought you there?" He raised his eyebrows. "Actually, what brought you to Jericho in the first place?"

_Well, that would be the threat of a nuclear bomb landing on my old apartment in a good two weeks,_ Lex thought to himself.

Then he froze. _September 19 is still over a week away..._ Maybe he was being crazy, but... the bombs were supposed to be dropped before the end of the month. What if, for some reason, the terrorists moved the date up?

A shiver ran down his spine at the thought. The last thing he had heard about the mission was that their infiltrators were going to make sure they could get all the bombs back before acting. It wasn't a bad idea, but if they missed their chance, if _any_ part of the terrorists' plan changed, the majority of the country would be wiped away before their eyes. That was the reason why he had come to Jericho early; he had always thought it was too big a risk.

"I need to check something," he told Bill, already starting for the bedroom.

"What- Lex!"

Of course the deputy was coming after him, but Lex didn't care anymore. If he was right, the Agency's policy was the least of his problems. He sat down in front of the cupboard with his computers just as Bill walked into the room.

"What the-"

"Close the door," Lex interrupted him as he turned his main device on.

Bill obeyed and then came to stand next to him. "What are you doing?"

Lex logged in before activating a second screen. "The company I work with computers for?"

"What about it?"

He turned in his seat to look at Bill for a moment. "That company is the CIA."

For a long moment his soulmate just stared at him in silence. "You don't mean _the_ CIA?"

"The one and only," he confirmed.

"You're kidding me."

"Oh, I wish," Lex sighed as he turned back to his computer and opened a database to check for more recent reports on the mission. "That's why I couldn't tell you about it from the start."

While he was trying to find anything he had access too, Bill asked, "Then why are you telling me now?"

God, he wished it didn't have to go like this. He had always thought that one day he could sit his soulmate down and calmly guide them through the whole story. "Normally, none of us are allowed to tell anyone the truth except for spouses. It's annoying but also necessary. Right now, I'm making an exception and breaking a really impressive number of rules because you're my soulmate and more importantly, because of a nuclear threat."

"A nuclear threat?" Bill repeated, his voice filled with surprise. "From who, Russia?"

"No, it's a series of domestic organizations working together to overthrow the government," Lex answered. "Doesn't really matter. I just need to find out what the current status of the mission is."

"Why?"

"Because we've got an undercover team trying to get the bombs back, and I think they might be running out of time," he explained. Where were those damn files? "You asked why I came to Jericho. This town is our rally point in case the mission fails. Technically, I'm not even on the job, but as one of the tech guys, I learn a thing or two once in a while. When I found out about the bombs, I finished my part and left as fast as I could. Sometimes missions fail, and I do not want to be anywhere near one of the cities targeted when that happens."

"One of the cities?" Bill asked incredulously.

Lex took a moment to look at a report he had managed to dig up. It appeared that not much had changed in the past few days, no major decisions taken. "Yeah, there's twenty-five bombs, destined for the most important cities in the country."

Bill remained silent for a while after that, and Lex closed the file to go find an overview of who exactly was involved in the team and how. He immediately recognized some of the field officers' names, but he didn't know any of them personally. As for the supervisor's name, that one meant absolutely nothing to him, which to be fair wasn't really a surprise since the guy was apparently DHS. If it had been someone Lex knew, he would have reached out to them right away, but now he wasn't so sure. Assuming he was right about the attacks happening sooner than they expected, he couldn't take the risk of the wrong people finding out.

"I still don't get it," Bill interrupted his thoughts. "What's changed? Why do you think something might go wrong now?"

"As far as we know, the attacks are planned for the last week of September." He looked at his soulmate. "What if you're right? What if our mark does refer to the 19th because what happens on that day is what brought me to Jericho?"

"You think the bombs will go off earlier."

Pulling up the profiles of all the different Project Red Bell members, Lex nodded. "I can't be sure of course, not yet, and I know it sounds pretty far-fetched, but it would explain our marks. If there's one thing they teach you at the CIA, it's that it's better to be paranoid than sorry. Even if the chance I'm right is ridiculously small, I need to check."

He frowned when he couldn't find anything on Thomas Valente, the supervisor. It didn't matter that the man wasn't CIA, he should still be in the database, and the fact that he wasn't made Lex a little suspicious. Hopefully the meetings were recorded, so he could at least find out what the man looked like and run face recognition.

Bill leaned down, arms folded on the top of the cupboard, and followed along on the screen. "Alright, so what are we looking for?"

Just the mention of that little word "we" was enough to warm Lex's heart a bit. He had just told Bill that his soulmate was a secret government officer and that basically his entire country could get nuked next Tuesday, and here he was, trying to help out. He really was a perfect match for Lex.

"Well, so far I can't find any indication that the terrorists are rescheduling," he answered while going on a search for meeting recordings on his second screen. "That can mean one of two things. Either they haven't made the decision yet, which would be great because it'll give us more time to figure something out, or they are onto us, know we've infiltrated them, and now won't share any new information with anyone they aren't completely sure of."

Bill nodded along. "So how do we find out which option it is?"

Dammit, no video recording, only another report... The file did say when and where the meeting was held though. "Hold on, I wanna see something..." He switched to the database that held security footage and searched for the right building. After picking a camera installed at the front desk, he found the tape from around the start of the meeting. "Come on..." he mumbled as he forwarded through the video, comparing each person that entered with the files he had opened earlier. According to the report, Valente had been in the meeting...

Lex watched a bald man with a walking stick enter the building, and suddenly he recognized the face without even having to look at the profiles. "No way."

"What is it?"

He paused, zoomed in on the frame and opened the file of none other than Robert Quinn. He huffed in disbelief. "You sneaky bastard."

At his side, Bill was still frowning. "Who is that?"

"Former boss at the CIA," he explained. "The real question is why he's involved with this and why it isn't listed anywhere." Quinn had traded the Agency for DHS after the mission that killed Terri, Stiles, and Joshua, but Lex hadn't heard about him anymore after. He had no idea the guy was involved with this, although he probably shouldn't be surprised. Quinn had always had a taste for the big fish.

But why wasn't he listed in the report? Or better, why wasn't his _real name_ listed in the report? Lex quickly checked the other people again and noticed they had all joined after Quinn left. That meant none of them would have recognized him. Their field officers didn't usually last very long anyway, but it was still a strange coincidence.

"And that's a problem?" Bill asked.

"Could be. His name isn't in the reports, but there is one that isn't in the database. I'm thinking for some reason, he's using a fake. It's like no one can know he's on this operation."

"But you know him," the deputy concluded. "And you don't trust him?"

Lex snorted. "He made it very hard for anyone to trust him. Has always had his own agenda and rarely cared much about human lives."

Bill raised an eyebrow at him. "And they let a guy like that work for the CIA?"

"You'd be surprised what types the government hires sometimes," he said, realizing very well that that included himself. "But he's always wanted what was best for our country, no matter the cost. That's what made him good at his job."

"Still weird that he's using a different name," Bill noted, and when Lex agreed, he asked, "So, what are you thinking is going on?"

Staring at his screen, Lex gave it some thought. There were multiple possible explanations, but he couldn't prove any of them right away. "I think," he eventually said, "I need a second opinion."

He took his phone out of his pocket and dialed the number of the person he trusted most at the CIA. Jackson Haisley answered after the second ring.

"Mr. Haisley, it's Lex," he greeted the analyst. They didn't work together as closely as they used to anymore, but they would still see each other in the building sometimes.

After an inquiring look from Bill, he put the phone on speaker, just in time for them to hear Jackson say, _"Lex, hi. I didn't expect to hear from you, I thought you were taking your vacation. Is everything okay?"_

"That depends," he replied. "Sir, I was looking into Project Red Bell, and I was wondering if you knew Mr. Quinn is involved in the mission?"

_"Quinn?"_ Jackson repeated, and Lex could hear him starting to type. _"No, I'm not on the case either, I only heard about it. Why do you ask?"_

"Because I believe he was at one of the project's meetings, but his name isn't in the report. The supervisor is Thomas Valente, he's supposed to be from the DHS, but I can't find anything on him."

Jackson sighed at the other end of the line. _"Hold on, let me read up on what's going on for a minute."_

They waited in silence for Jackson to catch up. Lex noticed that Bill was just as focused on the phone call as he was, and it made him smile. In another life, maybe his soulmate wouldn't have done too bad at the CIA.

_"You're sure Quinn is in on this?"_ Jackson broke him out of his thoughts.

Lex started drumming his fingers on the surface of the cupboard. "Well, I can't be completely sure, but I did see him on the surveillance tape of the building where the meeting took place."

_"And you think he's taken on a different name for this mission?"_

"It's the only explanation I can think of," Lex admitted.

Again, it took a while for Jackson to reply. _"I agree that it's strange, but is there a reason you're calling me about this, Lex?"_

Well, now he was just going to have to hope his colleague would believe him. "Mr. Haisley, I have a suspicion the terrorists might be moving up the date."

He could basically see the other man thinking in his office. _"What makes you say that?"_

"I can't really tell you," he confessed. The CIA had to take seriously a lot of crazy things, but interpreting soulmarks was a bridge too far even for them.

_"Do you have proof?"_ Jackson continued.

"Not yet."

_"Lex..."_ he started. _"You're one of our best at what you do, and I want to believe you, but you do realize I can't really do anything with this, right?"_

Lex knew that all too well. "I do, sir. I actually just wanted to hear what you'd make of the whole situation. Suppose I'm right. If you knew that the terrorists were going to attack on September 19 and that Mr. Quinn is supervising the operation under a fake name, what would you think about it?"

The analyst huffed. _"Well, if you put it like that, it certainly doesn't sound good. My first question would be who Quinn is trying to hide from."_

"Only people in the CIA and DHS know about this mission," Lex suggested.

Jackson hummed in agreement. _"And the DHS knows who he really is, they've been working with him for years now."_

"But our team doesn't. It's too new."

_"True,"_ he sighed. _"You're thinking Quinn's going behind our backs? To betray us to the terrorists for some reason?"_

When someone put it like that, it did sound pretty insane. "All I know is we're taking a risk, sir," Lex said. "I may not be a strategist but waiting seems like the last thing we should be doing right now."

_"I can agree with that,"_ Jackson said, to his relief. _"I trust you enough to at least take a look at what you're saying too. Even if Robert Quinn is the last person I'd expect to betray this country. And I still have no idea where you're getting this idea about the date changing from."_

Lex looked at Bill as he said, "If we all make it through this, I'll be happy to tell you, Mr. Haisley."

He was pretty sure he could hear a smile in Jackson's voice. _"I'm looking forward to it. Lex, about the operation... I'll talk to Carl about changing tactics, see if we can't get our hands on the bombs even before we have them all. But if you really want us to investigate this situation with Quinn, we need evidence."_

That didn't come as a surprise. You didn't just question the head of the DHS for no reason. The problem was that he didn't have any evidence, and he doubted he'd be able to find any. Quinn knew his job. It was pure luck Lex had found out that Valente wasn't who he said he was, and if he hadn't recognized Quinn, he never would have questioned it this much.

_"So, Lex? If you're absolutely sure, I'm gonna need you to give me something, anything, that I can use to prove this with. You understand what I'm saying?"_

His head shot up at that. He had known Jackson for years, more than long enough to understand. "Yes, sir. I'll get back to you."

They exchanged a quick goodbye, and then Lex ended the call. Bill was still at his side, looking at the phone with a frown.

"So what do we do now?" he asked. "Can you get that evidence?"

Lex leaned back in his chair. "I doubt it. But I can make some."

"You- What?"

An idea was already starting to take shape in his head. Terri had always been better at forgeries, but Lex was sure he could pull off a digital one very well. To plant something on Quinn himself was a challenge he didn't have time for, but he should be able to link the man to one of the people higher up in the terrorist organizations.

As he started typing to look for phone records, Bill asked, "Is this legal?"

"The CIA doesn't really care much about legal," Lex confessed. "But we might save millions of lives that way."

After he seemed to have thought about it for a minute, Bill nodded. "Anything I can do?"

When Lex looked at him, he felt nothing but admiration for the man he was lucky enough to call his soulmate. "You could get me another cup of tea if you want."


	5. Chapter 5

**September 19, 2006**   
  


Bill was sitting on the hood of his patrol car, looking out over the prairie to the west. His boyfriend - because that was for sure what they were after the past week - was right next to him, their fingers intertwined between them. Bill knew he was nervous. Gosh, he was terribly nervous himself. The main difference was that he had never been able to do anything about it in the first place. Lex, on the other hand, had worked his ass off to warn the CIA, and they still didn't know if it would be enough.

The day Bill had found out about all of this craziness, Lex had managed to fake some evidence that would force the CIA to check Project Red Bell for any information leaks. As far as Bill knew, they hadn't been able to find anything, but Jackson Haisley had made sure no further risks would be taken. According to Lex, two of the three terrorist cells that were working together had already been successfully infiltrated, and the hint at a possible leak had finally convinced the Agency that it was good enough to move on to the next step. So, four days ago, their teams had brought eleven of the bombs into safety, effectively causing an outbreak of chaos among the terrorists. Apparently good people had gotten killed on the mission, but they still succeeded.

That was about all they knew at the moment. Exactly as the CIA had predicted, once the terrorists knew they had been exposed, they went off the radar. One of the undercover officers was still on the inside, but not high up enough to find out what was going to happen next. Jackson had assured them that if something happened, they would know right away though. The question was just whether or not it would be enough to stop the fourteen remaining bombs in time.

Bill and Lex hadn't heard from Jackson anymore, which should have been a comfort. There was no sign of the terrorists moving up their date. But they both still needed to see it with their own eyes. There was no way to know if Denver was still one of the targets now that the number of bombs had been almost halved, but it was the only possible explosion they would be able to see from Jericho, and the one Bill cared about most. While Lex had been busy turning over every digital rock to find something to expose Quinn (or Valente, or whatever his real name was) with, he had tried to prepare Jericho as well as he could for a national disaster. Safe zone or not, he had to get his town through this as well as possible, so he had taken some precautions. After his hours, Bill had made sure the fallout shelters were back in order, stocked up on gas, bought a solar power generator (which up till then he didn't know existed and only did now because Lex told him about it), and went to New Bern to buy canned foods. For some reason, Lex had seemed to disapprove of that last one.

Once they had both exhausted themselves in order to do everything they could, the only thing left for them to do was wait. It turned out that Lex sucked at that part, so Bill had thrown himself at trying to distract him. The two of them had been glad to discover that making out usually did the trick, although they hadn't gone further than that yet. It was a relief to have Lex throughout all of this - Bill thought he might have gone crazy otherwise - but he wanted to cherish every minute of them taking their time, precisely because their whole world could change in a heartbeat.

He glanced at his watch. They had been sitting here for a few hours now, ever since Bill's shift ended. He was getting hungry, but they couldn't leave now, not before they knew.

"Too bad our mark didn't come with a time, huh?" his soulmate commented once he saw what he was doing.

Humming in agreement, Bill gave his hand a little squeeze and looked back ahead. "It couldn't be long anymore, right?"

"The president was supposed to give a speech tonight," Lex said. "Jackson thinks that's the moment the terrorists would have picked if they were going to switch to today."

Of course the president wasn't even in D.C. anymore by now. The CIA had made sure of that. It was a little bit creepy how secretively they managed to take care of those kind of things.

Bill managed to put his arm around Lex's waist without letting go of his hand and pulled him closer. His boyfriend immediately leaned his head against his, which made him smile. It was insane how attached to each other they had gotten in about a week, but Bill wouldn't have it any other way. He couldn't remember the last time he had fallen in love with someone this quickly. As complicated as it was, he had a huge amount of respect for what Lex did, so he hadn't minded providing the hacker with all the tea he needed and occasionally cooking for him while he was working. In return, Lex had brought him take-out whenever he had a late shift. Since the other man had excellent taste in restaurants, Bill definitely couldn't complain about him being hopeless in the kitchen. They had spent basically every free moment together, even if it meant falling asleep on each other's couch or Lex bringing his laptop when Bill wanted to watch football. The combination of being both soulmates and the only ones in town who knew about the attacks had tied them together in a way Bill never could have imagined.

Now it was Lex who looked at his watch. "Fifteen minutes before the speech should have ended."

Closing his eyes, Bill blew out his breath. He knew the terrorists still had plenty of bombs to blow up cities with, but he would feel so much better if he was sure his town was safe for now. After this, he trusted the CIA to handle it further. None of it would be his problem anymore.

Lex rubbed his hand with his thumb as if he knew what Bill was thinking about, which made him wonder if it wouldn't be the hacker's problem either. They hadn't really talked about what Lex was going to do after this. Bill wanted nothing more than for him to stay in Jericho, but he had a feeling it wouldn't be that easy, and he had no idea what they would do then. He couldn't move to D.C., Jericho was his home.

Bill pushed the thought from his mind and instead focused back on the horizon. And he waited, trying not look at the time every two minutes because somehow that should make it go faster. He just listened to Lex's breathing, which had lately become the most calming sound in the world. If Bill closed his eyes, he could imagine exactly what it would be like to wake up to that sound. One thing led to another, and at one point he was so caught up in his fantasies that he barely heard Lex's alarm go off.

Immediately, they looked up, first at the watch, and then at each other.

"Was that what I think it was ?" Bill asked, and his soulmate nodded while he turned off the tune.

Then he took his phone from his pocket. "I'll call Jackson to make sure nothing's happened, but it looks like we're good."

The relief that washed over Bill almost made the rest of the country seem unimportant. The world as he knew it wasn't going to end. Not today.

Jackson picked up almost right away, and Lex put the phone on speaker so Bill could follow along.

"Hi, Mr. Haisley," he started. "It's Lex. Are we all clear?"

The other officer let out a laugh. _"I thought I'd hear from you before the end of the day. Yes, Lex, everything is fine."_

Instantly, all tension seemed to leave Lex's body. Bill gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and they exchanged broad smiles.

_"We haven't heard any news about the terrorists, which for now is a good sign,"_ Jackson went on. _"Personally, I don't think they'll be going through with it anytime soon. They know we're watching them, and even though fourteen bombs can do a lot of damage, it might not be big enough for what they had in mind."_

"But we won't know for sure till we have them all back," Lex concluded.

_"Exactly. And we're continuing to work on that part."_

Lex nodded. "Sounds good. Thanks for the update, Mr. Haisley."

_"Of course. You did a great job on this. Things could have gone a lot worse if you were right,"_ Jackson said.

"Well, I guess we'll never know for sure now. But I'm kinda glad for that to be honest."

Jackson was quick to agree with that. _"So am I. I'll see you back at the office, Lex. Enjoy the rest of your vacation."_

When Lex looked at him with fiery eyes, Bill almost kissed him right there and then. "I definitely will. Bye, Mr. Haisley."

He ended the call, and with the adrenaline still running through his veins, it was all Bill needed to pull him in and press their lips together. Lex immediately flung his arms around his neck and kissed him back with a hunger that went straight down to his pants. He loved that about his soulmate; Lex was passionate enough to ignite his whole body within seconds.

"We did it," he whispered against Bill's lips in between kisses.

With a grin, Bill took a moment to look at the man he knew he could share his life with, and his heart was filled with pride. "We saved the world."

Lex snorted and gave him another kiss. "We saved the _country_. Kind of a big difference."

"Well, you saved _my_ world, so that's close enough for me."

He loved how Lex's eyes started to sparkle at those words. Bill slowly ran a hand through his hair, admiring how soft it felt between his fingers, and he never wanted to stop this thing they had together. Everything about Lex only made him want to discover more.

"Hey, what do you say we go back to my place to celebrate?" he suggested.

That got him a raised eyebrow. "Celebrate, huh?"

Bill smiled at him playfully. Then he got up from the car and pulled Lex along with him. "All the celebrating you want."

For a moment, Lex just looked at him, as if he was trying to determine whether or not Bill was being serious. Eventually the corner of his mouth curled up. "Let's go."

It had been a long time since Bill had been this eager to get home. He drove them back as fast as was allowed. Hell, he even got tempted to push the speed limit, which wasn't like him at all. It was just that Lex's eyes on him was enough to make him want to pull up on the side of the road again and just take him in the car.

When they finally got back to his place, he basically jumped out of the vehicle, and Lex was right behind him. Bill determinedly unlocked the front door before pulling his soulmate inside. Lex's lips were immediately on his, tasting him like his life depended on it, and the feeling was making Bill dizzy as he wrapped his arms around Lex to try and pull him even closer. Somehow it was like he needed to touch every part of the other man's body.

He led his boyfriend through the house, towards his bedroom, without even thinking about it. Only there did he take a moment to kick his upper brain into gear again. "You sure about doing this?"

Lex softly caressed his cheek with a mischievous smile on his lips. "Yes, sir. You can do anything you want to me."

His breath hitched in his throat at the possibilities that those words generated and the images flashing before his mind's eye. Lex, sprawled out on the bed, naked, begging for Bill to touch him, calling him "sir" of all things... He wanted that, wanted it so, so badly, but he had no idea how to start it, or if Lex was even saying what he thought he was saying. He had never really gotten a chance to play into that part of his imagination, and the last thing he wanted was to ruin the moment.

Apparently, Lex had caught some part of what was going on in his head though, because the next moment his hands were cupping Bill's cheeks and those gorgeous golden eyes met his own. "Hey. I'm serious. Suggest whatever you like. We'll start slow for today." Then he smiled. "And not that I think I'll be needing it, but if it helps you feel better, my safeword is 'enigma'."

Bill huffed out a laugh. That did actually make him feel better, even if he was having some questions about the safeword itself. Not that he was really surprised; he had been enjoying discovering Lex's quirks all week, and his passion for tech stuff was definitely one of them. Although Bill barely understood half of it, he loved seeing how excited Lex always got about everything related to his computer.

That thought was enough to make him decide on what he wanted to do. He gave Lex a quick but fierce kiss before letting go of him and taking a step back. Curious eyes followed him, with maybe a hint of hesitance in them as well.

Well, he would be very clear then. "Take your clothes off."

Lex's eyes widened at the order, and Bill could have sworn there was a smile playing around his lips as he said, "Yes, sir."

There it was again, that word that made him even harder. Bill palmed himself through his jeans in an attempt to get some sort of relief and trained his eyes on the man in front of him, who slowly started to unbutton his shirt. Piece by piece, naked skin was revealed as he worked his way down, ending with his pants, and Bill's heart rate sped up when he noticed that Lex didn't even have any underwear on, and that, judging by the state of his cock, he was just as ready as him to get started.

Bill watched in silence at how one piece of clothing after another dropped to the floor, tracing the soft lines of Lex's body with his eyes, admiring the smooth skin and light trails of hair that he wanted to touch almost desperately. The moment Lex was done, he stepped forward again and reached out a hand to do exactly that. His fingers found his soulmate's chest, moved to circle around a nipple, always keeping his touch soft just because he wanted to know what it would do to Lex. Bill wasn't disappointed to see him close his eyes and bite his bottom lip. He liked that, liked it enough to lean in and try it for himself, and when his teeth scraped over Lex's mouth, a delightful moan escaped the man's throat.

Unable to hide a smug grin, Bill broke the kiss. "Did I say you could make noises?"

"No, sir," Lex admitted, even though he didn't look like he regretted a single thing.

"You know," Bill started, a finger sliding down all the way to Lex's thigh, "back in the day the guys at the department bought me a cock ring once. It was a lame joke of course, but I never got rid of it. Today, however, I'd like it to be just you and me, so I'd prefer not to have to use it on you. Is that clear?"

The way Lex swallowed at the words made him realize that some other day, he was definitely going to try it though. "I understand, sir."

"Good. Now, go lie on the bed."

"Any specific position I should lie in?" Lex asked helpfully.

The mental images from earlier immediately popped back in. "On your back. Legs bent and spread open wide, feet flat on the mattress."

Lex's mouth curled into the slightest smile. "Yes, sir."

Bill watched him turn around and walk up to the bed, appreciating how nice that ass looked, even more so now that it wasn't being covered in pants. The thought made him decide that his clothes were getting way too tight around his body, and he hurried to take them off while looking at how Lex got into position. As soon as the hacker noticed what he was doing, his eyes roamed all over Bill's body, and he took his sweet time to lie down. Once he spread his legs, Bill was glad he could freely touch himself at the sight of Lex's long member and the little hole that he couldn't wait to discover with his fingers. He added watching Lex prep himself to the list of things to try at some point, but first he wanted to be the one to open him up and make him beg for more.

It was with that in mind that he moved to grab a bottle of lube from inside his nightstand. He loved how Lex's eyes followed him around the room, his pupils dilated with excitement.

"Am I allowed to touch myself, sir?" he asked when he saw what Bill was holding.

"No," Bill told him sternly. "Not unless I say so."

He went to stand at the end of the bed, opened the bottle and squeezed a generous amount in his hand to stroke his cock with. Lex watched his actions carefully, flexing his fingers at his sides as if they were reaching for something out of instinct. Bill liked to think there was going to be a whole lot more of that kind of squirming when he really got started.

Once he thought he had made Lex wait long enough, he knelt between the other man's legs and coated his fingers in lube before tossing the bottle to the side. His soulmate's breathing had become heavy with anticipation as he was looking at Bill's every move, at how he slowly rubbed his fingers together to warm the liquid before tracing the tip of one of them down Lex's leg, until it came to a stop right next to his entrance. Bill raised his head just in time to see him swallow hard and close his eyes at the sensation.

"Look at me," he said in a soft voice. "I wanna see your eyes."

Lex obliged, part of the fire in his gaze now replaced by something like tenderness. "Yes, sir," he breathed out.

Bill took that as his cue to slowly slid in a finger, making Lex gasp for air and almost fail at what he'd just been told. Continuing to stroke himself in the meantime, Bill pushed in a little deeper, deeper and deeper, and cherished every breath coming out of Lex's mouth, the way his hands grabbed at the sheets, his hips moving slightly up and down in an attempt to find friction with literally anything. It was the most beautiful sight, and part of Bill wished that it would never stop. With a second finger added, he found Lex's prostate and got a choked back moan for a response. He occasionally repeated the gesture while working a third in, watching Lex fall apart more with every passing second until he finally broke.

"Bill, please!" he called out, throwing back his head, when Bill hit that sweet spot once again.

Immediately, his fingers stilled. It took him every grain of self-control he still had left, but he managed to keep his voice steady as he said, "What did you just say to me?"

"I'm sorry, sir," his lover said while trying to catch his breath.

"You were doing so well, Lex." He caressed the inside of the man's thigh with his other hand. Then he pulled all his fingers out in a swift, sudden movement, and Lex let out a whimper.

Trying to ignore how badly he wanted him, Bill stood up from the bed and started in the direction of the door. Lex watched him go with a desperate look in his eyes, but he kept quiet. Once he was in the hallway with the door safely closed behind him, Bill took a deep breath. What he said earlier was true - he didn't want to use any toys today - but he needed a condom as well as a moment to pull himself together. Besides, he liked to make Lex sweat it a bit.

When he entered the bedroom again, his soulmate was still in the same position, and Bill had no doubt he had remained that way the entire time. "Good," he praised him, then held up the condom while he walked back to the bed. "You're lucky I'm feeling generous tonight. We do have something to celebrate after all."

Lex smiled at him, nothing but excitement on his face. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

He was surprised by the request but figured it wouldn't hurt. "Go ahead."

"I regularly have medical examinations at work, including testing, I have always been clean, and I haven't been with anyone since the last one. So while we can definitely use that if you want, we don't have to for me," Lex explained.

Bill had to admit he hadn't thought of that. "Well, we have to do the same thing at the department and I'm also clean." He threw the condom to where they had dropped their clothes and took his position between Lex's legs again. "In that case, I think we're all set."

"I agree, sir," his soulmate told him with a grin.

In response, he leaned forward and placed his hands next to Lex's shoulders so he could look down on him. "For this next part I want you to keep your hands above your head. You're allowed to speak, or make any other sounds you think are necessary. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good." Bill leaned down on his elbows to give him a long kiss, and he felt the other man relax underneath him.

After they broke apart, Lex did as he was told and raised his arms while Bill hooked one of his own behind Lex's knee to spread his legs further. He lined himself up at the man's entrance and leaned forward again. While he slowly pushed into Lex, Bill started leaving a trail of kisses up his right arm, until he reached the mark on his wrist. A moan escaped Lex when he was completely buried inside of him, and Bill went to steal another kiss as he pulled out almost entirely before thrusting back in. He kept on moving like that, slow at first but speeding up gradually, encouraged by every time Lex whispered his name against his lips. Bill knew he didn't need much more - all their foreplay had brought him close enough to the edge - but he wanted Lex to get there first, and he was going to do everything he could to make sure that happened. Once he had built a steady rhythm, he angled his body to find his soulmate's prostate again and was rewarded with a moan that sent shivers down his spine and only made him go faster, hitting that spot with almost every thrust till he was sweaty and out of breath and on the verge of losing it entirely.

"Bill..." Lex groaned. "God... Yes..."

A few more moves and he came untouched, calling out, spilling his load over both of their torsos, and his ass clenching around Bill's cock was enough to push him into reaching his own orgasm. It was the best one he'd had in longer than he could remember, utter bliss tingling all of his senses.

With a groan, he collapsed on top of Lex, lightheaded and trying to catch his breath. He could feel his partner's heart beating rapidly against his chest and figured his was probably in a similar state. Gentle fingers started threading through his hair, and Bill figured this must have been the most perfect moment in his life. He rolled them to the side, pulling out of Lex along the way, so that he could look at the man he would gladly do this every day with. His soulmate's eyes were sparkling with the same delight he felt, a smile playing around his lips as Bill's thumb went to brush his cheek. There were still some traces of lube left on it.

"We should probably clean up," he noted, only now feeling how sticky their bodies were against each other.

Lex placed a finger to his lips. "We got all the time in the world, remember? I don't know about you but I intend to enjoy it."

He could agree with that. "Fine," Bill mumbled as he wrapped his arms around Lex and pulled him closer.

They just lay together like that for a while, holding each other in silence while enjoying the aftermath of what they had just done. There was something that kept nagging at Bill in the back of his mind though. This was hardly when he had thought they would be discussing it, but he guessed it was as good a time as any to bring it up.

"Hey," he started softly. "Now that the bombs aren't dropping and all of that, are you gonna go back to the CIA? To D.C.?"

His boyfriend looked up at him with loving eyes. "Honestly? I don't know exactly what I'm gonna do. I'd love to keep on working for the Agency remotely, but I have no idea if they'll have that. And either way, I'm not leaving you, Bill Koehler. Not ever. I've needed you in my life for far too long for that. Even if it means moving to a small town in Kansas."

Bill's heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest all over again. "Really?"

"Really," Lex assured him with a smile. "Now, let's get showered so we can go to sleep."

"It's not even that late yet," he commented, raising an eyebrow.

"I know, but I want to lie in bed with you like this for the rest of the night."

All right, that admittedly sounded like a great idea.


End file.
